Beauty on a Budget – My High Street Hits(Make up)

High end make up is oh so tempting. I want the Urban Decay Naked 3 soooo bad, but I must restrain. A lot of the time we are lead to believe that just because our blusher isn’t from NARS or our foundation from MAC, that we are suffering. Here I’ll share with you some of my current favourite make up products which haven’t left me eating pot noodles all week.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum

Not only does this smell really good (I think of apricots, but maybe not as it contains lychee, goji berries and pomegranate extracts) but has a lovely natural finish. It gives a 'your skin but better' look, with a medium but buildable coverage. It has a yellow undertone which is good for eliminating any redness on the skin. It has a somewhat dewy finish so I wouldn’t recommend it if your skin is particularly oily. The only downside is there is quite a limited colour range and the darkest shade is not very dark. But at £10.99, and often in a deal for several pounds cheaper, you can’t really go wrong with this. 

My colour: 53 Light Beige

Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer (and Powder)

This is my latest ‘drugstore’ purchase and whilst this concealer is on the slightly more pricey side – the whole product is actually a three-in-one. It contains two shades of concealer, one peachy toned to brighten any dark under eye circles and a more green toned colour to counteract any red blemishes or spots. The third part is the Kick Ass powder, which is translucent, so will add no extra colour to the skin. The concealers are lovely and creamy and can be blended in with a finger and the powder is long lasting, even when used on my slightly oily T-Zone. Again the colour range is either light or medium so not great for darker skin tones, however if you’re using it to brighten the face it may not be too bad.

My colour: Light

Natural Collection Blushers

So underrated. They have so many beautiful shades of blushers and the colour pay off is really good as they are highly pigmented. I think good dupes for higher end products and what definitely is good is their price, just £1.99. Yes, please.

My colour: Peach Melba (but all cute)

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers

A lipstick and lipgloss in one. Incredibly pigmented and long lasting, these can be muted slightly for daytime wear or applied dramatically for an evening or night time look. They retail for £6.49 but often are reduced or as part of a 3 for 2 deal and with a newly expanded colour range, what’s not to love? For me, Rimmel is the queen of high street lip products and the Lip Lacquers are no exception.

My colour: 101 Celestial but also 400 Big Bang

Real Techniques Brushes

These brushes have seriously changed my conception of makeup application, particularly powder based products. I feel that using the Expert Face Brush to apply my foundation instead of my fingers has also helped to improve my skin, reducing blemishes caused by my fingers touching my skin. The brushes are made by sisters Sam and Nic Chapman and are synthetic, made from taklon, which is 100% cruelty free. The brushes range from about £8.99 to £12.99 but can also be bought in collections to make them cheaper in the long run.

I recommend: Expert Face Brush, Blush Brush, Powder Brush (although many are multipurpose)

-Alex